Friday, November 6, 2015

It doesn't
take long for Darryl Graham (Lamman Rucker) to start rubbing people
the wrong way after he returns to his 'hood in a rough section of
South Jamaica, Queens. First, a miserably-married neighbor in his
apartment building falls in love with him at first sight. Trouble is,
Connie's (Brely Evans) hypocritical husband is very possessive
despite the fact that he's cheating on her. So, Avery (Anthony
Montgomery) exhibits a jealous streak as soon as he catches wind of
his wife's keeping time with Darryl and crying on the brother's broad
shoulders. Another
tenant who develops a crush on the handsome hunk is Benny (Robert
Ri'chard).

However, he's deep in the closet and only propositions
Darryl after mistaking him as gay. After being rejected, Benny feels
so humiliated and worried about being outed, that he's overheard
issuing a death threat by nosy Ms.Mamie (Marla Gibbs), an elderly
eavesdropper who lives in 3A. Meanwhile,
Darryl's being back in town has his ex Krystal (Nafessa Williams)
thinking about getting back together, although she's already in a
committed relationship. And Daryl makes enemies with some rough dudes
on the street after coming to the aid of Benny.

All of the
above means that the detectives assigned to the case (Kellita Smith
and D.B. Woodside) have a lot of suspects to interrogate when Darryl
perishes in a fire that guts his new flat. The ensuing search for the
arsonist responsible is the puzzle at the heart of The Man in 3B, an
inner-city whodunit directed by Trey Haley (Perfect Combination).

The movie
is based on a best seller by Carl Weber, who adapted the novel to the
screen himself. Unfortunately, in an apparent attempt to remain
faithful to the source material, the production is cluttered with too
many characters to fully develop. As a result, the picture feels
like an overplotted soap opera, since most of the players are
simplistically-drawn archetypes with little to do besides
establishing their motives for murder.

On the
positive side, Haley has recruited an impressive cast which includes
everyone from the legendary heartthrob Billy Dee Williams to the much
beloved Marla Gibbs, best remembered as Florence, the sassy maid on
The Jefferson. Another plus is that the cleverly concealed solution
to the crime is definitely difficult for the audience to figure out. A
multi-layered mystery where just about everybody but the butler
proves to be a prime suspect.

No comments:

Subscribe via email

Subscribe via RSS

The Sly Fox Film Reviews

KamWilliams.com

The Sly Fox Film Reviews publishes the content of film critic Kam Williams. Voted Most Outstanding Journalist of the Decade by the Disilgold Soul Literary Review in 2008, Kam Williams is a syndicated film and book critic who writes for 100+ publications around the U.S., Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada and the Caribbean. He is a member of the New York Film Critics Online, the NAACP Image Awards Nominating Committee and Rotten Tomatoes.

In addition to a BA in Black Studies from Cornell, he has an MA in English from Brown, an MBA from The Wharton School, and a JD from Boston University. Kam lives in Princeton, NJ with his wife and son.